Robotics Triangulum Paxton Otis, Knight of Division
Intro To be born a noble is to born into a legacy. To inherit not only the wealth and knowledge of those who came before you, but also the expectation to match or exceed them. For the noble families of House Triangulum the pressure to live up to that lineage is tremendous. For a member of Robotics Triangulum Paxton, among the oldest, most accomplished families on Habitat One, the pressure is crushing. After all, Paxton robots helped build the Habitats around Lovelace. Paxton robots went where humans could not, building the terraforming machines on Lovelace that made The Advance possible. Paxton engineers gave their lives to save Habitat One following The Scream. Theirs is a history of innovation, leadership, and sacrifice. A history that has resulted in generations of Paxtons earning Grand titles, a place in the Order of Division, and earned them access to the deepest secrets of House Triangulum. A history that Robotics Triangulum Paxton Otis will do whatever it takes to live up to. Early Life Born the son of Grand Robotics Triangulum Paxton George and Lady Algorithm Δ Turing Grace, Robotics Triangulum Paxton Otis showed great promise from a young age. He passed his maturation exam on his first attempt at age sixteen and earned his place as part of the team sent to Maja to assist with the design of a new generation Fornax mechs at eighteen. It was on this trip that Otis first met and fell in love with Inorganic Chemist Triangulum Arnuk Joslyn, the woman who, against the wishes of his father, became his wife a year later. They worked together on research to increase the superconductivity of the actuators driving the movement and reaction speeds of the Fornax mechs, and during that time Joslyn slowly began to convert Otis into a supporter of the Silent Renaissance serf-education movements championed by her family. Before long they both found themselves leading classes and seminars for the Triangulum serfs on Maja in topics as diverse as math, logic, chemistry, and engineering. It is following one of their classes that disaster struck. The day House Crux made its declaration that synths were a danger to the Empire, Joslyn was attacked and killed by a mob of serfs when she tried to defend her synth assistants from the mob. Shattered by her death and blaming the synths she tried to protect for her loss, Otis left Maja to join the greater conflict against Cygnus and to aid House Crux in purging synths from Acheron Rho. The Synth War Like a man with a death wish, Otis sought out and threw himself into the most dangerous theaters of the war. He went to Hroa to help the defending Fang after the Aquilan synths rebelled at Outpost Hydra. He went undercover to Aomori to help root out synth sympathizers among the nobility, surviving a duel to the death when discovered. He was on Diomikato, working just behind the front lines of the conflict to keep the Aquilan Lorica online. But it took being captured chasing a synth cell on Hong Lu for Otis to see his life change for the better. Word of his specialty reached the ears of one of the Lords of Hong Lu, Feng Xiao, who acquired Otis from the Loyalty Brigade as he was awaiting execution. Originally tasked with designing a custom suit of power armor for Feng Xiao, the two quickly forged a bond through their grief, Otis for the loss of his wife and Feng for the loss of his sister. It was among the chaos and waning embers of the Revolt that the two finally had the chance to come to terms with their shared grief, and a powerful friendship was forged. As the Synth War came to a close Feng Xiao gave Otis back his freedom, allowing him to return to Habitat One with his gratitude. Return to Habitat One Otis returned to Habitat One a war hero, and with the help of his father and the relationships he built during the war, Otis quickly rose in prominence among the nobles of House Triangulum. Though Otis doesn’t seek out a position of power and influence on the station, rumors spread that it is only a matter of time before he becomes a Pythagoras. Doors that were once closed to him are opened in welcome. Nobles who barely acknowledged him treat him as an old friend. The attention is overwhelming, and in an effort to step away from the spotlight Otis retreats back to his work joining projects for the Order of Exponent and the Legio CCCXIV. It is at this time that Otis’s father makes him aware of the family secret -- Triangulum Paxton is a member of a secret cabal of maltech researchers on Habitat One known as the Protractors of Lovelace. It is a revelation that makes Otis deeply uncomfortable, even more so as he becomes aware of just how many resources the group has available to them. When Otis heard about the explosion at the 14 Red Dogs Society Tower he immediately reached out to Feng Xiao to make sure he was not among those caught in the blast. As the situation on Hong Lu deteriorated, concern for his friend caused Otis to join his voice with those advocating for intervention in an effort to rescue the refugees caught in the middle of the conflict. When The Eloquent Sword successfully docked on Habitat One after rescuing the refugees, Otis was relieved to discover that Feng Xiao was among those who had been rescued. Wanting to help his friend get back on his feet, Otis offered to let Feng Xiao manage one of the more troubled properties in the Paxton portfolio. Within weeks of Feng Xiao taking control the property had been completely turned around, producing record profits. Otis’s father was thrilled by the turnaround, but after taking a closer look at the operations Otis became concerned. There were no material changes in production, output, or sales from the property, while the number of employees had tripled due to the number of refugees being hired by Feng Xiao to staff positions. Otis began to suspect that Feng Xiao was rebuilding his empire on Habitat One, and was afraid that he would soon have trouble keeping his family from becoming enmeshed in Feng Xiao’s affairs. The pressure on Otis began to mount on all sides: the nobility and his father pulling at him to become more active in politics, the Protractors pulling at him to join the cabal with the threat of violence if he did not, and the threat of Feng Xiao consuming his House as he rebuilt his criminal empire. It was a relief when Director Yumi Bass approached Otis with the offer to run the Coeus Group bureau on Habitat One. It gave him an excuse to step out of public life, access and resources that made it more valuable to leave him alone as an independent instead of being co-opted, and the protection of some of the most powerful and influential people in Acheron Rho. Otis now plays a dangerous game, trying to find the delicate balance of remaining useful to those who wish to control him, while still finding a way to maintain his freedom from them. Category:NPCs Category:House Triangulum Members Category:The Coeus Group Category:Characters